Engineer Designs Tricycle For Paraplegics

April 29, 1990|By Patricia Caporale Of The Sentinel Staff

ROCKLEDGE — For the past two years, Allan B. Jones Jr. has spent every available hour in his garage preparing for the Olympics - not pumping iron on a weight bench but maneuvering metal on a work bench.

The 33-year-old mechanical engineer for Lockheed has been moonlighting at home as an inventor.

The product of Jones' work is a red, white and chrome tricycle for paraplegics that he hopes will find its place in future Olympics competition, possibly in place of wheelchair races. The tricycle has more maneuverability than a wheelchair and can handle all types of terrain easier.

Jones' interest in such a vehicle actually began when he was a senior at the University of Maine. ''Our senior project in engineering class was to build something that would help paraplegics,'' said Jones. ''We designed a recreational vehicle because we felt wheelchairs limited them to sidewalks or the street.''

Jones didn't think much more about his college project until he moved to Pinson Boulevard in Rockledge, where he had a paraplegic neighbor who raced in a wheelchair. ''I would watch him practice and try to get up and down the curbs and try to turn quickly and thought surely there must be a better way,'' said Jones. That's when the wheels of creativity began to turn.

Jones tapped the resources he gained in college. ''I thought back to my college project and started designing my vehicle based on the principles I learned there,'' he said. ''I took the basic concept and started to design my own on paper. But what happens on paper doesn't always work out in practice.''

Jones said he had to make numerous changes and modifications when he actually began building the tricycle. ''There's just no way of knowing some things until you try them,'' he said. ''It took a lot of trial and error.''

After two years of trial and error the verdict was in. Jones invented a tricycle for paraplegics as well as the able-bodied. The tricycle responds quickly and has good maneuverability and a rotational steering mechanism.

Jones' tricycle has a pivot seat, much like a fisherman's seat on a bass boat. Unlike other commercial three-wheelers that are easily tipped, Jones' tricycle places the rider directly on the frame in the center, which allows for better balance and control during turns and quick moves.

''Other vehicles of this type use a tiller steering which is very difficult to handle, especially for paraplegics,'' said Jones. ''If you want to turn right, you have to move the tiller all the way over to the left which sets you off balance.''

''I designed mine with rotational steering located in one place. It is easier to operate, quick to respond and keeps the rider on balance. If he wants to turn left, he turns the wheel to the left just like you would a car steering wheel.''

''I would like to see it in the Olympics,'' said Jones as he slid onto the seat and began a demonstration. ''It would place the competitors on equal ground. Neither would have an advantage over the other and both could train the same. Paraplegics could compete against able-bodied in a true measure of skill.''

It may be a few years before Jones can even suggest such a competition since his patent is pending and has not been fully researched, which could take up to two years. It is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington D.C., and has received a number. But that is a very early part of the process.

''I'm sending video tapes out to major bicycle manufacturers now to see if they are interested in marketing it,'' he said. ''This is just the beginning.''